Blue Jackets: Brandon Dubinsky gets 6-year extension

Brandon Dubinsky was not expecting a call from the Blue Jackets on July 1. That’s what made it special.

On the very day Dubinsky entered the final year of his existing contract — which means it also was the first day the Jackets were permitted to negotiate an extension — general manager Jarmo Kekalainen delivered a long-term offer to Dubinsky’s agent.

“They didn’t have to do that,” Dubinsky said. “It’s a long summer. We could have gotten a deal done.

“But they came to me on the first day and they wanted to get something done. And that meant something to me, let me tell you.”

Dubinsky signed a six-year, $35.1 million contract extension yesterday that puts him under contract with the Blue Jackets through the 2020-21 season. He’ll make $5.85 million per season when the extension begins in 2015-16.

As part of the deal, Dubinsky has a no-move clause for this coming season and in the first three years of the extension. Beginning in 2018-19, and for the final three years of the contract, he has a limited no-trade clause.

“This is a well-earned contract for a player who has been in this league for many years and has played at a high level for many of those years,” Kekalainen said. “He’s a leader on our team, a guy who plays his best when it counts the most, as we all saw in the (Stanley Cup) playoffs.”

Dubinsky came to Columbus nearly two years ago in the blockbuster trade that sent Rick Nash to the New York Rangers.

He quickly became a fan favorite in Nationwide Arena, which had grown despondent after years of watching top players with barely detectable heartbeats.

That’s never been an issue with Dubinsky.

“If you think about all the big moments we’ve had the last two years …” Blue Jackets center Mark Letestu said, “… he’s in the middle of all of them.

“There’s nobody more passionate than he is, and it brings the club up higher.”

Dubinsky said he came to Columbus with an open mind, but high expectations.

“I thought we were going to be better than people expected right away,” Dubinsky said. “And I quickly learned what a good group of guys we have in that room.

“The biggest reason I signed this, though, is that this team wants to win. Ownership wants to win, (president of hockey operations) John Davidson and Jarmo want to win. And we’re all aligned on that. I want to win, too.”

It hasn’t always been an easy relationship between Dubinsky and the front office.

Dubinsky’s mouth — much like his energy level — does not have an off switch.

“I have opinions,” Dubinsky said, smiling. “And I share them.”

The Blue Jackets have asked him to dial it back a few times, and it became less of an issue as last season moved along.

Maybe he’s cooled the engines, or maybe the Blue Jackets have warmed to the realization that it comes from the right place.

“You want guys who are obsessed with winning, and that’s Dubi,” coach Todd Richards said this summer. “I’d much rather have a guy who wants to win too much than a guy who you wonder if he cares.”

Dubinsky had 16 goals, a career-high 34 assists and was third on the club with 50 points last season. He led the Blue Jackets in faceoff winning percentage (52.9 percent), penalty minutes (98) and was second in hits.

But a large portion of his new contract is justified by the intangibles he brings.

“The battle level he brings when the game elevates in intensity … that’s the type of identity we want as a team,” Kekalainen said. “He’s a Blue Jacket. He plays like we want every Blue Jacket to play.”

• Skinny : Will enter 2014-15 on the verge of two milestones, having scored 99 goals and having played 498 games in the NHL. … Last season was the second 50-point season of his seven-year career. … Limited Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby to no goals, a minus-2 rating and 19 shots on goal in six playoff games in April.